Co-Intelligence in the Classroom: How AI and Teachers Are Partnering to Transform GCSE Business

Summary: Stephen Walton, Head of Business and Economics at The King's School Chester, used TeachEdge.ai alongside regular one-to-one support with Year 11 GCSE Business students. The result was a strong example of co-intelligence in action: AI handled the heavy lifting of feedback, while Stephen focused on the human work that moves students forward.

Co-intelligence: the model that actually fits teaching

When Stephen Walton, Head of Business and Economics at The King's School Chester, started using TeachEdge.ai with his GCSE Business students, he found something we don't talk about enough in education: the best results don't come from "AI instead of teachers".

They come from AI and teachers working together.

That's co-intelligence: a partnership where the machine brings speed and consistency, and the teacher brings judgement, relationships, and the ability to turn feedback into action.

AI in teaching: enhancement, not replacement

In some industries, AI is framed as replacement. In schools, that framing just doesn't fit reality.

AI can absolutely help with:

• first-pass marking and annotation
• generating detailed draft feedback
• surfacing patterns across a class (what's missing, what's repeated, where evaluation is thin)

But it can't replicate the parts of teaching that matter most:

• motivation and confidence-building
• knowing what a student is like on a good day vs a bad day
• choosing the one thing to focus on next
• making feedback feel believable and doable

The sweet spot is letting AI handle the repetitive drafting, and using the time saved for the human work.

The challenge Stephen was solving

Every Business teacher knows the pressure: you want feedback to be timely, specific, and genuinely useful — but you're also juggling a full teaching load.

Stephen's approach was practical:

• use TeachEdge.ai to generate the detailed first draft of marking and feedback
• then invest the reclaimed time into higher-impact support: one-to-ones, targeted guidance, and follow-through

That is co-intelligence in a form that makes sense in a real school week.

What the students really think

Stephen ran a "Student Voice" survey with his GCSE Business class, and the message was clear. Students valued:

• detailed, understandable feedback from the AI
• teacher guidance that helped them interpret it, prioritise it, and use it well
• the combination of both — not one in isolation

That last point matters. When students feel the teacher is still behind the process, feedback tends to land more seriously.

From scepticism to success: the numbers

The most striking part of Stephen's work was the measurable progress.

Working with 15 students on a one-to-one basis — using TeachEdge.ai to support the marking and feedback loop — the outcomes were:

• average grade improvement of 2.20 grades from Year 10 to Year 11 mock exams
• 14 out of 15 students showed positive grade changes
• several students improved by 3–5 grades
• 11 students reached target grades and were "released" from intervention

Those numbers don't happen by accident. They happen when feedback becomes fast, specific, and acted upon — repeatedly.

What made co-intelligence work here?

Stephen's approach had a simple structure:

1. AI handled the heavy lifting
   Detailed feedback and first-pass marking were produced quickly and consistently.

2. Stephen added the human elements
   Motivation, context, and the "what should I do next?" guidance students need.

3. Regular one-to-one meetings
   AI feedback was turned into action points, not just comments on a page.

4. Students got the best of both worlds
   Immediate, detailed feedback and a teacher who helped them use it well.

The future of teaching looks like this

Teaching isn't being replaced by AI. It's being enhanced when schools use it sensibly.

Co-intelligence is a calmer, more realistic model:

• AI supports the workflow
• teachers remain accountable
• students get better feedback and more human support

Practical takeaways for teachers

If you want to implement co-intelligence in your own setting, here are a few principles that travel well:

• Use AI for the routine drafting: first-pass marking, feedback, targets
• Spend the time saved on student interaction: one-to-ones, reteaching, confidence
• Keep humans in the loop: review, tweak, and endorse where it matters
• Use AI insights, but rely on professional judgement to prioritise next steps
• Remember the goal: enhancement, not replacement

A thank you

We're really grateful to Stephen Walton and his students for sharing their experience so openly.

If you're looking for a way to reduce workload, tighten your feedback loop, and create more time for meaningful intervention, TeachEdge.ai is built for exactly that kind of co-intelligence approach.

Gary Roebuck is Head of Economics at Holy Cross School, New Malden and the creator of TeachEdge.ai.